


Distraction

by kendrarousse



Category: Smosh
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kendrarousse/pseuds/kendrarousse
Summary: Damien's got a crush on one of the Smosh editors but is too tongue-tied to say anything about it. A night out with the company and a trip to Vegas may just be the perfect combination to get things moving with her, though...
Relationships: Damien Haas & Original Female Character(s), Damien Haas/Original Female Character(s), Damien Haas/You
Kudos: 27





	Distraction

**Author's Note:**

> Hola friendos! This is my first fic on this site, so I hope you guys like it! It's a one-shot involving an OC but could also easily be a reader-insert fic. I could be convinced to continue this depending on the demand, so if you like it do leave some thoughts. Thanks and have a wonderful day!

“I have a bone to pick with you.” Damien marched into the editors’ room while wagging his finger at her playfully.

She spun around in her seat with raised eyebrows to face him, a hand to her chest to feign innocence. “What  _ ever _ do you mean?”

He stopped right in front of her with his fists on his hips, looking down at her with a frown. “You know what you did. You made me look  _ hella _ stupid in that last edit.”

She hummed in consideration then shrugged. “Not more than everyone knows you already are.”

Damien spat out a laugh, then instantly crouched down with his hands planted on her arm rests, his face mere inches apart from hers as he stared down at her giggling face. “You must think you’re  _ so _ funny.”

She grinned and booped his nose. “Yep. I mean, it’s already got 22k likes.”

He narrowed his gaze at her, but almost immediately broke when she winked at him playfully. He rose to his full height again and crossed his arms, trying to supress the warm feeling blossoming in his chest.

She was back scrolling through the comments on their recent videos, taking notes on a pad. “So, is there anything else you needed or did you just want to validate my revenge plot for stealing my gummy bears last week?” She asked nonchalantly, her head tilting to one side as she reveled in her triumph while reading a comment, earning a chuckle from Tim who was chilling nearby.

Damien’s jaw dropped at the revelation. “ _ Seriously _ ? I only took three! And two of them fell on the table!” 

She scoffed. “Dames, if you were  _ really _ my friend, you’d know by now that all gummies are sacred. And all of them that have been purchased and are within my immediate area  _ are mine _ .” She reminded him darkly while throwing him dagger eyes.

He sported a half-smile as he admired her focused look. Her hair sat in a messy bun on the cap of her head, her glasses threatening to slide off her nose. She gazed back through hooded eyes, hoping against hope that he could stop so she could breathe again.

“Deem, we’re ready to shoot.” Courtney popped her head into the room, snapping the two out of their trance.

Damien’s hand shot up to rub the back of his neck, his face feeling hot. Luckily for him, the editors’ room was dimly lit as usual. He was about to say something else to her, but decided against it and turned away.

“Good luck with the shoot.” She called out without taking her eyes off the screen. Damien stole one last glance over his shoulder, a renewed energy taking over his body as he made his way to set.

* * *

She started getting red in the face as she sat with Wes, Tanner, Shayne, and Noah, the boys making her laugh about something so incredibly inane she couldn’t believe she could get so breathless.

“ _ DUDE, STOP!”  _ She begged, consistently hitting Shayne in the arm. “Seriously. Damn it. You’re gonna make me spit up everything I just ate.” Tears started sprouting from her eyes, and she tried to wipe it as carefully as she could without ruining her makeup.

“ _ OK, OK, YOU’RE HURTING ME. _ ” Shayne laughed his signature high-pitched chuckle, growing redder by the second as well.

Hearing her cackles of laughter from the break room, Damien snuck to a nearby desk and “checked” some desk toys out in an attempt to eavesdrop.

“Hey, buddy.” Shayne greeted as he walked out of the room, slinging his arm over Damien’s shoulders and dragging him along for the walk to the men’s restroom. “If you’re gonna go in, just do it. Don’t linger outside like a fuckin’ creep.”

Damien groaned. Shayne had figured out by then that the girl he always asked advice for and talked about constantly was her. Damien started getting more and more brazen around the office; actively looking for her when she wasn’t around, stealing glances, and laughing at her antics much harder than what would be considered “normal”.

“What do I say this time? I already talked to her earlier.” Damien shrugged.

“I’ve literally heard you talk about Dark Souls and your cats for three hours straight. If you try, you can keep talking all day.” Shayne joked, pushing the door to the restroom open.

“Dude, seriously, you know how messed up my head gets.” He argued. “I can’t—”

“Just ask her if she’s going to the thing this weekend and go from there. You’re forgetting that she’s just another human being like you.” Shayne said as they paused at the entrance. “Just a little more cool.” He grinned, then disappeared into the restroom.

Damien groaned again as he stared at the restroom door. He took a deep breath and spun around, only to come face-to-face with her. His eyes shot wide at the sneak attack. “Oh, hey! What are you doing here?”

She looked at him quizzically. “Um, walking?” She giggled, and Damien’s insides melted. “Should I ask what you were doing staring at the door, or would I rather not know?”

Damien chuckled nervously. “Let’s change the topic, please?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, then continued on her way. Instinctively, he followed her.

“So—” He spat out with more force than he intended, making her jump a little. “I just wanted to ask if you were coming to the thing this weekend.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him as they walked into one of the smaller conference rooms. “I dunno. I see you guys everyday in the office, and I think that’s already more than I can stand sometimes.” She teased as she set her laptop down. While she worked as an editor for the most part, she was fairly multi-talented that she occasionally wrote and directed some bits when the producers asked for it. She’d just been asked to come up with an  _ Every (Blank) Ever _ , and needed the space away from distractions to put her ideas to words.

Worry and guilt immediately shone on his face. Noticing this, she shifted her demeanor and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “Damien? I’m totally joking.” She smirked, and sat down. She pat the chair next to her so Damien could take a seat as well.

He sat down almost robotically, unsure of what to do and where else to take the conversation.

“I just have something to do before going to the bar, but if I end early I’ll def catch up.” She said as she opened up her laptop and pulled up a window with a document she was working on. “So... Dames…” she grinned at him sweetly, “you’re a pretty funny guy.”

Damien laughed a little to himself. “I mean, if I’m not, then I should probably start rethinking my career choices.”

She laughed out loud. “Little late for that, babe.” She teased, and the nickname gave him a head rush. “ _ Anyway _ , could I run some ideas by you? I need a comedic genius to help me thresh these out but I suppose you’ll do.”

Damien’s jaw dropped and he sunk into his chair, throwing his head back. “Ok,  _ WOW _ . Just  _ WOW.  _ Is it impossible for you to actually compliment me like, ever?”

She chuckled and hunched over, a hand grabbing his knee. “I’m sorry! It’s just too easy sometimes.” She waved her other hand dismissively. “Greatest ever in comedy you are, and guidance from you I need, master.”

He rattled his head at her nonsense. “You  _ do _ know it’s Yoda who talks like that and not the other way around, right.”

She wrinkled her nose. “ _ I’ve _ never watched Star Wars; I’m not a nerd.”

His jaw dropped again and he made to stand. “I will not sit here and take this!” He joked.

She grabbed both of his hands to prevent him from fully getting up. “No, please! Please. I’ll be nice. Sorry. Seriously, I’ll be good.” She pleaded while attempting her sweetest puppy dog face. He settled back down with a fake groan, trying so hard to not give anything away.

“Okay, what do you need from me?” He asked, glancing over the open document.

She smiled widely and hooked her arm around his to secure him to her side, pulling him closer as she pointed out the ideas with general descriptions listed on the screen.

“...but for this one, I was thinking to go a bit meta and do like  _ Every Smosh Pit Ever _ or  _ Every Smosh Games Ever _ but have everyone play someone other than themselves? So basically…” She began explaining and Damien hung onto every word. He offered as comprehensive opinions as he could, but his thoughts were mostly consumed by his entrapped limb in her hold.

They exchanged ideas for quite a while, and she managed to come up with some scene outlines. After some concrete lines were laid out, they hit a creative block and moved on to sharing their controversial opinions while playing a game of red hands.

“Oh my god. I can’t believe you think that Zutara should’ve been a thing.” She sighed in disappointment, watching his hands keenly to avoid getting slapped.

“You can’t tell me that Zuko and Katara had absolutely zero sexual tension. It was all there on screen.” He reasoned with a light chuckle, relishing in the feel of her fingertips against his while twitching his hands to psyche her out.

She mimicked a barf. “Okay first of all, she was fourteen and he was sixteen. Let’s not sexualize children.” She laughed, jittering as she pulled her hands back instinctively.

Damien couldn’t wipe the smile off his face if he wanted to.

“Secondly, you  _ honestly _ think that Katara would ever actually want to become Fire Lady of the very nation that took her mother away? She talks about her trauma in  _ literally _ every episode!” She reasoned more while still evading his attempts. “Bitches be crazy if they think she would’ve thrown all her beliefs away for some guy.  _ Even if _ he’s a prince.”

Damien considered this, his eyes narrowing down at her and his lips poised in a contemplative pout. “You make some pretty good points.”

“Damn straight!” She grinned triumphantly, instantly deflating when Damien successfully slapped her. “Ouch.” She moped, rubbing the top of her victimized hand.

“Oh damn, I’m sorry.” Damien apologized, his anxiety sinking back in.

“Oh you’re gonna get it.” She smirked, resuming their positions with his fingertips atop hers.

Unbeknownst to them, Matt Raub appeared and observed silently from the doorway behind them before making himself known. “Working hard or hardly working?”

The two jumped in their seats as if they were kids just caught way past their bedtime.

“Matt,” she greeted with a smile.

“I thought you said you needed space to write.” He asked suspiciously, knowing he granted her permission to use the room instead of for another meeting.

“Yeah, Damien was helping me out. I was able to squeeze some really great ideas from him.” She said with an appreciative nod in his direction, taking the laptop and standing. Damien followed suit. “I can propose some of them to you right now.”

“Geez, take me on a date first.” Matt chuckled at his own joke. “Sure, come into my office.” He said, leading the way.

She smiled brightly up at Damien and reached one arm to pull him close for a hug. “Thanks, Dames. I owe you one.” She gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek and followed Matt to his office.

Damien gulped down and felt the heat on his cheek from the point of contact. Refusing to be spotted in a room all alone looking so flustered, he walked away to find something to distract him.

* * *

The next day, Damien nervously made his way to Matt’s office. Matt texted him the night before which came across so ominously that he thought he was going to be reprimanded for being caught yesterday messing with her.

He knocked and waited for Matt’s welcome, then gently opened the door. 

“Matt, before you say anything, I just want to apologize for yesterday—” Damien mumbled, then stopped when he saw her sitting on Matt’s couch. “Oh—”

“Wait,  _ what _ happened yesterday?” Matt asked, pointing the pen he was holding at the surprised boy.

She looked at him suspiciously.

Damien’s brows shot up, and he struggled to find the right words. “The thing — in the room — distracting…” He fumbled, pointing his thumb behind him and another finger at her.

Matt waved his hand dismissively. “Damien, you apologize too damn much.” He said. “Anyway, I’ve got a proposition for you. So the stuff y’all fooled around with yesterday? Read it. Loved it.” He addressed the two of them, reacting to his own words as he spoke. “I think there’s something you guys might be up for. So Make-a-Wish got in contact with us and we’ve got a kid up in Vegas who’s a big fan of Smosh and So Random, and they’re asking if Damien could plan a fun day with him. I was thinking you two go together and figure stuff out, make it funny and everything so we can post it.” Matt then went into even more detail about the trip, but all that stuck in Damien’s mind was that he was going to spend over 24 hours with her. Alone.

Well, mostly alone.

“Any questions?” Matt asked once he ended his pitch.

“What about Shayne?” She brought up.

_ Ah, right. Shayne. His best friend that he totally forgot about and would gladly have kicked him to the curb if it meant he could spend alone time with her.  _

“Well, the request was just for Damien, so I didn’t really bother including Shayne in the picture. I could ask him, but the arrangements they made were just for Damien and a producer.” Matt offered, poised to type it on his computer.

She looked up at Damien from her seat, a side-smile resting on her lips. “Umm… I mean, I’m down if you are, with or without Shayne.”

Damien tried so hard to keep his composure. The beating in his chest started pounding in his head, and he took a subtle shaky breath to speak. “Yeah, that sounds good to me. Anything for the fans.” He nodded. “As for Shayne, I know he’s got plans, so maybe we don’t need to involve him.” He lied through his teeth.

She nodded in respectful agreement, reverting her attention back to Matt.

Once that was over and Matt handed them their paperwork, Damien opened the door for her and they left the office. They walked together slowly and silently to the bullpen, stopping by the editing room.

“So… I’ll pick you up at your place on Sunday at four AM?” Damien clarified, standing awkwardly before her.

She pursed her lips. “How about I just meet you at yours…?” She smiled crookedly. “I’d rather—”

“Sure, whatever you want.” Damien replied, needing no explanation. “No worries. Anyway, I’ll catch you later.”

She gave him a weirded out look as she nodded slowly. She spared him another side-smile before heading into the room and starting work at her desk.

Damien cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair before going off to find Shayne.

* * *

Friday finally came, and that night the whole company rented out one of the nearby rooftop bars for some karaoke, drinks, and bonding. The karaoke was supposedly an ‘ironic’ choice since most of them hated it, but Rhett and Link insisted because the best karaoke performances occur drunk. Damien was excited for what could happen — it’d been a while since he and she were able to hang outside of work; at least, never since he realized he’d started to develop feelings for her.

She used to swing by his place sometimes considering she was good friends with both Damien and his roommate Mark (being in the production team for Smosh Games and all that). Some of the Smosh Games crew would spend some movie/game nights at their place, or even grab dinner sometimes after work. It’d been a while, though, since those happened as it seemed they’d been trying to pump out more content recently and thus had more work to do.

He had a couple of shoots that day to use his pent-up energy on, and by around five, more or less everyone was headed to the bar. He headed to the editors’ room to see if he could escort her to the venue, but soon learned from Tanner that she’d left earlier in the day to handle something.

“Riiiight.” He said to himself, remembering that she did mention she had something else to do before going to the outing. Without anything else to do, he caught up with Shayne, Olivia, and Courtney to carpool to the bar.

The night grew darker, the moon glowing brightly against the pitch black sky. Damien sat with Shayne, Ian, Noah, and Keith in a booth, watching their co-workers take turns singing drunkenly.

Courtney, Sarah, and Mari were on stage singing a highly off-key rendition of  _ Girls Just Wanna Have Fun _ , Olivia having given up halfway in embarrassment. An over-eager Joven tried to join in, but Mari shoved him off the stage repeatedly until he finally gave up.

Damien took a swig of his beer, looking around while his leg shook under the table.

Shayne turned to him discreetly, whispering “you’re being  _ way _ too nervous. Just chill.”

Damien’s head snapped when he heard the door open. Some of the cold night air rushed into the enclosed venue, and there she was. She wore a black cropped halter top, black and white geometric print skort, mini leather sling bag, white sneakers, and a Smosh cap.

She greeted people as she neared the bar, engaging in conversation with Kevin the editor and Yasmine the PA.

Shayne rolled his eyes and pushed Damien out of the booth while chugging the rest of his beer, both of them standing. “We’ll just get more drinks.” He announced to the table, and directed himself and his friend to the bar.

“You’re a grown-ass man, Damien. Act like one.” Shayne said, sporting an extremely amused smug smile.

Damien chuckled nervously, and before he knew it, Shayne brought them right into her group.

“Hey guys! What’s your poison for tonight?” Shayne asked the group.

“Beer.” Kevin gestured to his bottle in hand.

“My usual Margarita.” Yasmine replied.

“Some whiskey on the rocks to take the edge off.” She nodded, taking a small sip of the amber liquid.

Shayne chuckled. “Is working with us  _ that _ bad?”

“Sometimes.” She winked, chuckling herself as she sat up on the bar stool.

“So, Damien,” Yasmine started. “I was wondering when you’d get on stage and grace us with your singing.”

Damien laughed. “I dunno…”

“Which is code for: ‘I’m not drunk enough yet.’” Kevin teased. “Beer?”

“Yeah, make that two, please.” Shayne replied, and the group engaged in some mindless chatter for a few minutes. Soon enough, Shayne successfully convinced Kevin and Yasmine to do a number with him on stage, leaving Damien and his secret crush behind.

She whooped and cheered as the three approached the stage, her finger tracing circles along the frosty side of her glass.

He smiled down at her, only to shift focus when she almost caught him looking. She grinned and refocused on the stage.

“Think they’ll be any good?” She asked jokingly.

“Ha! Well, that remains to be seen.” He retorted, taking another swig.

She clicked her tongue and watched as the trio started to sing to  _ I Believe I Can Fly _ . Shayne, being the true performer he is, threw in some interpretive dance to their little number and got some laughs from the audience.

“Oh, my god. This is either the best or worst performance of this song in the history of karaoke.” She facepalmed, laughing at Shayne and Kevin’s antics onstage. “Poor Yasmine.”

Damien nodded in agreement, then cheered with the rest of the audience once they finished. The three returned to her and Damien, who were still clapping their hands.

“Congratulations! You totally butchered that song. It is dead, and can never be sung again in fears of it starting the zombie apocalypse.” She remarked, raising her glass at them.

“Pfft. You should get your ears checked.” Kevin waved dismissively.

“Maybe you should just learn what good singing sounds like.” She laughed aloud, downing the rest of her drink.

“OOOOOH!” Shayne burst. “SOUNDS LIKE A CHALLENGE.”

“Shall we?” She turned to Damien with a mischievous look in her eye.

Damien was taken aback at first then nodded in acceptance. “Let’s.” 

She set her empty glass down on the bar and Damien handed his beer to Shayne. They both made their way to the empty stage and looked at the song list. “This would be  _ so _ funny.” She pointed out a title on the screen, and Damien queued it and sang the first line: “ _ I’ve had the time of my life…” _

Damien had been formally trained in singing before, and it was very well known he had a great voice since he’d sung in some bits on camera. She, on the other hand, had never really performed on stage, but pleasantly surprised everyone when she proved she could carry a tune and keep up with the singer.

Damien, being a performer, had a natural and inviting presence onstage that he managed to help her loosen up in their performance faster than she would’ve been used to. They didn’t just sing their parts but sang with and to each other, him taking her hand and spinning her a couple of times and just swinging together side to side.

Her lips stretched into the widest smile she’d had in a while, uncontrollable joy emanating from her singing form as she claimed the stage with the funny dude.

When their song ended, Damien took her hand and raised it up to the cheers of their audience. He escorted her off stage and they high-fived before rejoining the others.

Kevin nodded. “That was really great, you guys.”

Yasmine nodded in agreement. “I didn’t know you could sing like that!”

She shrugged. “I usually keep to my shower with an audience of none, so thank you for lying to me to save me from complete humiliation.” She laughed. “Now if you’d excuse me, I’d like to rethink my life decisions.” She dipped her head and left the group, headed to the open balcony.

Shayne elbowed Damien’s side which made him flinch.

“I—think I need to do the same!” Damien smiled flatly, following her outside.

She leaned forward against the railing outside, looking out at the city. Damien reluctantly sidled up next to her and did the same. They watched the bustle on the city streets below for some time, entranced in a comfortable silence.

Soon, she looked at him with a soft smile. “I’ve missed you, Dames.”

He scrunched his brows. “I’ve been around, though.”

“Yeah, but… I mean…” She trailed off, shifting glances between everything in her field of vision but Damien. “Tell me if I’m imagining it, but… have things…  _ changed _ between us?” She asked slowly while still looking away, as if saying the words pained her.

Damien wanted to admit everything then and there, especially since he was finally being confronted about it… but he had a little bit more self-restraint than that. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought about what he could say, the silence growing more and more pregnant between them.

She gnawed on her bottom lip, anxiety building up within her. “Dames... I don’t know what’s going on with you or... what I did to change things…” She started, nervously playing with her hands and the rings on her fingers. “But I just want to say I’m sorry, for whatever it is… and, uh… I hope we get to a better place somehow, especially since we’ll be doing that trip…” She said, all trace of the high they had on stage gone. “So, yeah.” She breathed deeply, still avoiding his burning gaze. She laughed to herself sardonically. “ _ Okaaayyyy _ , this was too much and I clearly need to eat  _ something _ for dinner. I’ll see you on Sunday.” She muttered and turned to leave, only for her arm to be caught gently by him.

His face was stone hard in thought. Clearly his body betrayed his mind and he acted without first thinking if he even could speak. “I… I, uh… I—”

She placed her other hand on top of his. “You don’t need to explain anything to me. Whatever it is, I respect anything you need.” She half-smiled to put him at ease, but he didn’t let go. “Dames…? Would you like to come with me?”

Totally unsure of what he was doing, he just nodded and followed her to the ground floor via the elevator. They began walking the streets of Los Angeles, in search of something she’d like in silence.

“Is there anything  _ you’re _ hungry for?” She asked quietly, still not looking at him.

He shook his head minutely and shrugged.

“Are you even hungry?” She asked.

He responded the same way.

She sighed once again as she tucked her hands into her skort pockets. Eventually after a few minutes, they found a Subway and got a table. It was just a little past midnight so there weren’t as many people around and they got a booth to themselves. She set her food down and sat across him, and she slid a chocolate chip cookie across the table to him. She then proceeded to silently eat her sandwich, mindlessly scrolling through her social media feeds.

He tilted his head when he noticed writing on the paper wrapper of the cookie. 

_ Dames — I really don’t know what’s happening, but always know I’ve got your back. Love always. _

A smile tugged at the corner of his lip, and he delicately took the cookie and munched down on it.

Seeing him more relaxed while eating the cookie brought a ghost of a smile back on her lips, and the silence became more companionable. After they ate, they walked around some more until they found themselves in a public park and sat together on a bench.

Wordlessly, Damien removed his denim jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She accepted it gratefully and relished in the residual warmth of the jacket.

“So,” they both started, glancing at each other in surprise before looking away again.

She snorted. “God!” She burst, leaning back against the bench and throwing her head back in laughter.

Damien looked at her in confusion.

“Dames!” She yelped, then giggled again. “God, it’s just… it’s just weird how doing stuff with you… like, without even talking… I mean, I don’t mind it.” She admitted quite sincerely but with a smile nonetheless. “Again, I don’t know what you’re thinking… if you’re drunk or whatever… but Dames, you’re one of my favorite people in the world ever, and—”

“I’m sorry.” Damien finally said aloud, making her look at him. “I’m sorry I’ve been so weird. I just… I’ve been going through some things, and I needed to sort them through.”

She nodded deeply. “I understand.”

Damien turned in his seat so he could direct as much of his attention on her as possible. “Truth is, I…” he started, struggling to find the right words.

She slowly looked to him, hanging onto every word. Her brows were raised in expectation, and she gave him her total attention. She knew how Damien could get sometimes; he was the kind of guy who was as authentic as it gets, but he was also an overthinker, so finding the right words to perfectly express something he cared deeply about could take a while, more so if done spontaneously. So, she waited patiently.

“I.... really like… you…” He drawled out, staring down at his hands as he did so.

Her heart stopped, and the smart mouth on her was at a loss for words.

They sat in silence for a moment, his confession weighing down on the both of them. She gulped down and tried to speak a few times, pushing her hair back in frustration as she struggled to find the right words.

Suddenly, she started to giggle. “ _ God! _ We’re so fucking weird.” She said, finally looking at him with a stupid smile.

At that, his chest felt so much lighter and he managed to laugh himself. “Yeah… So, I’m just gonna tell Matt that I’ll go with someone else this weekend instead—”

“Dames?” She interrupted, and he gave her an expectant look. “Shut up and date me like a man.”

His jaw dropped, a smile slowly forming on his lips until he was visibly radiating joy. “You betcha I will.” He reassured her with an excitable nod.

She smiled back at him.

They remained on the bench for a good hour or so just enjoying the other’s presence, and with everything out in the open, there was a lot less anxiety and a lot more excitement for the future. She refused to let him bring her home, so he settled for walking her to her Uber.

He opened the car door for her and stood under the streetlight with the biggest, dumbest smile on his face. “I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“See ya, sexy.” She flirted with a wink, then tip-toed to plant an innocent kiss on his cheek while returning his jacket. She entered the Uber and drove off, looking back to see Damien do a little dance as he shrunk into distance.

* * *

Saturday was way too long for them to bear. They stayed glued to their phones on video call. Damien had to go back to the office to shoot some videos while she ran some errands around town. He wanted to ask if he could take her out to dinner, but she said that she had to move her usual Sunday family dinner to then due to the Vegas trip.

Then Sunday finally came, and Damien woke up earlier than expected thanks to his bubbling anxiety. He did his morning routine and put on a grey henley shirt, typical denim jeans, a random Smosh hoodie, black sneakers, and a beanie. He made sure he packed everything and proceeded to load up his car which he parked upfront.

Around ten minutes before four, Damien turned to the sound of an engine coming closer, and soon enough, a red Vespa pulled up right in front of him with a helmeted driver in the seat.

She pulled off the helmet and looked up at Damien, who now was very awake. “Morning, Dames.” She greeted, a winning smile on her face.

“Oh, hey.” He replied with amusement and surprise. “I didn’t know you biked.”

She shrugged. “More of… scoot. Gotta keep some of the mystery, ya know.”

He chuckled. He helped her load her duffel bag into the car and park her scooter in the garage. Once they loaded everything, Damien opened the passenger side door for her then got in the driver’s seat, and took off.

“Oh, I got you somethin’.” She said, grabbing a thermos from her pack and handing it to him.

He cocked an eyebrow at her suspiciously.

She scoffed. “Please, I want to see the rest of my days; I’m not poisoning my chauffeur.”

He chuckled and took a sip, delighted at the bittersweet taste of her homemade cold brew.

She nodded while grinning. “Good, right?” She said, grabbing another thermos and taking a sip herself. They settled into a comfortable silence, the morning radio buzzing in the background as they went on their way. A couple of songs they knew the lyrics to later, they were happily chatting and enjoying each other’s lively company.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the hotel and checked in their luggage before heading back out to meet the Make-a-Wish people.

They met with a twelve-year-old boy named Michael who was as rambunctious as they come. The Make-a-Wish people brought their own camera crew (but she made sure to take her own footage in case) and they wasted no time in giving the kid the best day of his life.

They were spontaneous in their activities for the most part, only sticking to the itinerary religiously since everything was pre-booked. Because Michael had also asked to be part of a Smosh sketch, they filmed scenes from the script she and Damien had prepared which alluded to different So Random and Smosh bits. As they spent more and more time together, she couldn’t help but fall for how great Damien was with kids. The guy practically acted like a natural big brother for the boy.

“You know, you’re a lot more distracting than I thought you would be.” Damien remarked as he sat next to her in the car to review their footage while moving locations.

She gave him a funny look. “Distracting? I’m literally just filming you and haven’t said a damn thing.”

“Yeah, well don’t think for a second I don’t see how you look at me.” Damien teased, wagging his brows at her. “I know I’m a catch, but we have a child with us for heaven’s sake.”

She gaped and smacked his bicep in amusement. “As handsome as you are, I do know how to control myself, for your information.”

Damien shrugged. “Sure, whatever boats your goats. Though I’d also like to mention that you’re a welcome distraction any day.” He whispered so the others around them wouldn’t hear, his hot breath tickling her cheeks and causing her to get red in the face.

She gulped down and looked away from him to hide her embarrassment, but allowed herself to hold his hand between them.

The day passed them much more quickly than they expected, but then again that’s what tends to happen when one operates heavy machinery, goes indoor skydiving, races go-karts, and starts a paintball war in a restless sequence.

“Thank you so much for doing this for our son.” Michael’s mother thanked her as they watched Michael and Damien say their goodbyes in the hotel lobby. “This is the happiest he’s been ever since…”

The Smosh producer side-smiled and looked up to the mom. “We’re more than happy to have gotten the chance to spend the day with him. He’s a great kid.”

She chuckled, her eyes misty. “He really is.”

Damien and Michael said their last goodbyes to each other before the kid waved them off and walked out to the car with his mom.

She walked over to a very enticing and fluffy hotel couch and let herself plop onto it. Damien chuckled and plopped right down next to her with his arm draped over her shoulders. She dragged out a long breath and smiled to herself almost trance-like.

Damien looked over and pursed his lips. “What are you so smiley about?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “We just gave that kid the best day of his  _ life _ . I mean, you could see the light in that kid’s smile from frickin’ Mars! We  _ actually _ ran around the whole city and did all these crazy things... I mean, you did most of the actual  _ doing _ , but still. We made such an impact on that kid’s life today? You’ve got to be his hero! Aren’t you over the moon right now?” She asked in amazement, her eyes twinkling up at him.

Damien grinned as wide as he could. “I am. I really am. If anything, this is the most humble I’ve felt in a while, and I’m so grateful that we got to do this together.”

She smiled back and leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. She then felt her stomach gurgle as if on cue, and the two of them gave each other a look before bursting out in laughter. After some more playful banter, they grabbed a quick bite in the hotel cafe and finally headed to their rooms.

They stopped at her door, her leaning against it and him giving her a content smile.

“Despite how this looks, I hope you know I’m a better first date than afterthought end-of-the-day pasta and bland tea in a Vegas hotel.” Damien said.

She laughed heartily. “I’m counting on a better first date that  _ isn’t _ an afterthought in an  _ LA _ hotel.”

They made eyes at each other before she caught herself yawning embarrassedly. “Oh shoot, I’m so sorry. Today must have drained me more than I realized.”

“Oh, yeah, totally, totally. Well… good night then.” He side-smiled.

She tiptoed and pressed a lingering kiss on his jawline. “Good night, Dames.” She breathed lightly, then scanned her keycard and slipped into her room.

Damien couldn’t help but keep his smile on as he went into his own room.

She giggled at Damien’s text as she climbed into bed after a quick but relaxing shower. Feeling brazen, she decided to call him up.

He picked up after the first ring. “ _ Miss me already, huh? _ ”

She giggled. “Shut up.”

“ _...So… _ ”

“So… I guess I just wanted to say good night again.”

“ _ You know I’m literally two feet away from you right? _ ” He mentioned, chuckling to himself. Their beds were practically back-to-back with nothing but a wall and some pillows keeping them apart. “ _ Besides, I thought you’re tired.” _

“I dunno… Maybe a good shower was all I needed to get my energy back? Who knows.” She shrugged, taking one of the pillows and hugging it to her chest.

“ _ You’re ridiculous.” _ He snorted.

“Yeah, well… good night… we both need energy for the drive back tomorrow, I guess.” She muttered into the receiver.

“ _ Yeah, you’re right… Well, if you need anything, I’m just next door. _ ”

“Likewise.” She replied. She waited for any indication that he'd hung up, but the line was steady. She couldn't wipe the stupid smile off her face, nor could she believe that they'd fallen into a typical cliché. “Good night.” She whispered.

“ _ Sweet dre—. _ ” He mumbled quietly, then the line immediately cut.

Perplexed, she looked at her phone which told her that the call had unexpectedly and unintentionally disconnected. She sighed and stared at the ceiling, her mind both reeling and blank at the same time.

_ What if something happened to him?  _ She thought. No, she was definitely overreacting.  _ What could possibly have happened to him that should drag her out of bed? _ Her mind reeled with the possibilities.

She sprang up from bed, wrapping her jacket tighter around herself.  _ Wouldn't hurt to just… press my ear up against his door and check if he's alright. _

She padded to the door and opened it, surprised to find none other than the most flustered Damien she's ever seen dressed in a typical Henley shirt and Smosh joggers.

“Ooh, umm, bet you're wondering what I'm doing.” Damien's cheeks flushed red, his hand swatting the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Her lips pushed to the side in a knowing grin as she appraised the man before her, crossing her arms.

“Well, the line just got cut and I got worried, and I know I shouldn't have really been worried but you never know—” Damien blabbered nervously.

Having had enough, she grabbed at Damien's chest and pulled him close, crashing his lips into hers. He was very obviously taken aback by the suddenness of it all, but did not dare question it and fell right into step. His palms caressed her cheeks and neck as the kiss softened, her own hands grabbing at the strings of his hoodie.

She took a step back into the room and he followed, shutting the door behind him as they lost themselves in each other.


End file.
